Andrew Young

History is an uninvited guest in Andrew Young's campaign for the Georgia governorship. It was not many years ago that Young, as a lieutenant to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., came to rural towns like this one as inconspicuously as possible. Last week, he roared into Eastman in a huge van emblazoned with his campaign posters and bumper stickers.

Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young suggested a few years ago that the city consider selling its busy international airport to Japanese companies eager to invest in the Southern metropolis. Many of his constituents thought that he was joking, and nothing has come of the idea.

Christmas is a special time, a time when one politician can spend tax money sending special holiday greetings, and another politician can complain about it. Mayor Andrew Young sent jumbo Christmas cards this year to 1,500 area reporters, ministers, supporters and public officials, including Lt. Gov. Zell Miller--who just happens to be a candidate for governor next year, just like the mayor.

Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, who is seeking white votes in his effort to become Georgia's first black governor, visited a "redneck bar" here and excused the fact that it plays racist records on its jukebox. Young's Monday evening at Carey's, which is known for its hamburgers and two country songs using the word "nigger," originally was billed as his way of getting to know a few journalists from around the state. But that purpose was quickly overshadowed by his comments on race.

Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young said Friday that the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis has failed to "reach out" beyond a cadre of insiders for help from other Democratic politicians, and he contended that one cause of the insularity was that the campaign was "led by women" for whom it was difficult to find men "willing to take orders."

Sitting in the mayor's office-- his office--in a Southern city where he once sat in jail, Andrew Young excused himself to take a quick phone call from a Mitsubishi executive ringing him from Japan. "It's 8 o'clock at night there," Young apologized to his visitor. In Atlanta, it was just past 8 a.m. and Mayor Andrew Jackson Young was on his third press interview of the day.

A federal prosecutor said Wednesday that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute Mayor Andrew Young or other city officials for obstruction of justice in the handling of drug allegations against civil rights activist Julian Bond. U.S. Atty. Robert Barr said his office is continuing to investigate allegations of possession and distribution of illegal drugs by several prominent Atlanta residents.

A U.S. attorney said today that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute Mayor Andrew Young or other city officials for obstruction of justice in the handling of drug allegations against civil rights activist Julian Bond. But federal prosecutor Robert Barr said an investigation of narcotics allegations against a number of prominent Atlantans is continuing. He declined to identify any of those involved.